Technology Training

Today the K-2 teachers in our building our in technology training. We are currently going over the Michigan Education Technology Standards for those grade levels.

Examples of second grade tech standards:

• Student identifies technology related tools. (e.g., computers, cameras, audio/video players, phones, televisions)
• Student understands that technology is a source of information, learning, and entertainment.
• Student understands that people use many types of technology in their daily lives (e.g., computers, cameras, audio/video players, phones, televisions)
• Student discusses the functions of the major hardware components in a computer system.
• Student identifies common uses of information and communication technologies.
• Student recognizes the functions of basic file menu commands; new, close, open, save, and print.
• Student discusses the consequences of irresponsible use of technology resources at home and school.
• Student recognizes a web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer) and can use it to access resources on the Internet
• Student interprets simple information from existing age-appropriate electronic databases (e.g., dictionaries, encyclopedias, spreadsheets, charts, graphs) with assistance from teachers, parents, or student partners.

Good idea: Have a conversation with your students about what you want to do, and what some of the possible programs to complete the task would be. (Engage students in that discussion so they can practice those problem solving skills. ("I have to do this- what would be the best thing to use to do it?) Student recognizes the best type of productivity software to use for a certain age-appropriate tasks. (e.g. word processing, drawing, web browsing)

Give students time to practice using the spell checker.

Giving credit to sources that you find on the internet and use in your own work- even photographs that you cut and paste.

Typing- getting kids to use the home row- this is a challenge! They have already been using the computer at home (at least many of them have) and have a tough time switchin how they type.

Some cool websites for resources:

MDE- Integrated lesson plans aligned to MI GLECs and framework and METS-
Scroll down the page to the RED title “Technology Enhanced Lesson Plans”
2005 workshop http://techplan.edzone.net/ci2005/

2006 workshop http://techplan.edzone.net/ci2006/

Internet4Classrooms- subject and grade level resources, integrated lesson plans—great place for K and Pre-K
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/k12links.htm

Rubric creator- pre-made categories and criteria. Can be copied and pasted to Word for further customizing.
http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/

Rubistar—online rubric creator-select from variety rubrics-categories can be chosen and criteria is pre-made but can easily be customized.
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Christmas

Christmas is quickly approaching! It's hard to believe that we only have four days of school until break! (And yet, at the same time, not so hard to believe!)

Giving Thanks

With Thanksgiving this past week, I've been thinking of the many many things that I have to be thankful for. Here is a list of many of them, some serious, and some a little more light-hearted! I'm thankful for...
A God that loves me and wants to know me and for me to know him...
A God that loves me enough to provide a way for me to spend eternity with him, even though it cost greatly, and I don't deserve it.
A loving and thoughtful husband who is my best friend in the world.
Two wonderful brothers who are intelligent, kind, and love the Lord.
That God allowed our apartment and almost everything in it to be destroyed in a fire so that I could learn that I don't need anything outside of Him to be happy.
A church family that has been a blessing beyond anything I would ever have expected or imagined.
Many, many, wonderful friends.
A great dad who was super strict- which I will forever be grateful for.
The twenty-seven years I got to spend with my mom who stayed home to care for us, who encouraged me to do my best always, and was there for me no matter what.
A college education at a great school.
A job that I enjoy and where I am able to impact the lives of others.
A church with two pastors who are committed to preaching ALL of the Bible- not just the parts that make everyone feel good or are politically correct.
My Bible and the incredible truths it contains. It has every bit of advice and guidance I will ever need.
Many great students who have taught/teach ME every day!
My grandmother (dad's mom) who encouraged me in the Lord from a very young age.
My grandmother (mom's mom) who is incredibly supportive and one of the classiest people I know!
Aaron's family!
My health.
A beautiful place to live that I can use to minister to others and glorify God.
A great dog that makes me smile on a daily basis, and who is there to "lick" away the tears if ever they fall.
Patent leather shoes.
Sunshine and summer and all of the beauty in nature.
Whoever it is that invited dishwashers and washing machines and dryers, and that I finally have them! (With no collecting quarters required!)
Our cozy fireplace that makes grading papers and writing lesson plans at home a little more enjoyable.
My job at Ann Taylor with its flexiblilty and the change of pace it gives me, along with all of the girls I work with there!
English tea with cream and sugar.
Being a citizen of the United States where I have more freedom than I would in any other nation in the world.
Warm gloves and scarves!
Trees that blossom in the spring.
Italian food. Especially at great Italian restaurants.
Strawberries and blueberries.
Classical music.
Down comforters.
Cloudless summer nights, particularly up north, where I can look at the stars.
The many great books I have read.
God's provision for all of my basic necessities.

Officially Moved!

We are officially moved into our new home! There is still some unpacking and quite a bit of work to do, but I'm so glad to be getting settled in! Here are some photos of the latest progress.

Getting Closer!

Move-in day is quickly approaching! We have final inspections this week. Here is some of the current progress:

Kitchen Countertops

The house is really getting close to completion! Yesterday, they put in the kitchen countertops, and there is actually a funny story to go with them too!

Yesterday morning, I stopped at the house to do a little cleaning. I only stayed about an hour, and then had to leave to walk Sasha and take care of some other things. Now, when I chose the color for the countertops, I had narrowed it down to two choices. One was a black with some tan and white in it, and the other was a tan with some black and white in it. I was really having a hard time deciding which one I wanted, but I ended up going with the tan. While I was at the house, I was looking around the kitchen, and realized that now that I could see everything all together, that I thought the black would actually look better. I almost called our contractor to ask him if it was too late to change the color. I didn't because I knew that it had to be too late, and went on my way. Later that evening, Aaron and I stopped at the house again so he could see the updates. It really had been too late to change the color, because the countertops were in. The amazing part- they were the black countertops instead of the tan!

I have no idea if I wrote down the wrong color or if the building supply company ordered the wrong one, but thankfully it doesn't matter. Aaron told our builder at church this morning that it was the wrong one, and he totally thought it might be his fault and said they would take them out and put the correct color in at no cost. Aaron then of course told him that I love the color, and had actually decided before seeing what happened that I wanted the black.

We have black handles to put on the cabinets, which I think will really tie everything together. I am loving the kitchen!

Flooring and Open House!

Yesterday they started to put down some of the laminate flooring in the kitchen, dining area, and entryway. I really like it! It was hard to tell exactly what it would look like with the small samples at the flooring shop, but I do think that I made the right choice!

This evening we had open house at school, and I was able to meet 16 out of my 20 students! I really enjoyed talking to them and their families, and am looking forward to the start of the school year.

School Days

My classroom is starting to come together! I still have a long way to go, but I'll have most of today and some time tomorrow to have it look a little more polished and get my word wall up before school starts.

Kitchen Cabinets!

We now have some kitchen cabinets at the house!

Our Baby!

Some photos of Sasha taken by my brother, Rob.

Classroom Video Tool

This flip video would be a great tool for making classroom videos. It can record 60 minutes of video, and then plugs right into the computer's USB port for easy transfer onto the computer. It would be fun for kids to use to make videos of presentations, or videows to go with podcasts. Again, kids are much more motivated to work on something if they know they are going to get to record it for someone else to see.

Professional Development and Waiting

This morning's topic in class- online professional development. With all of the budget cuts, going to conferences, (unless you want to pay for them yourself) is basically not going to happen. However, we are of course still required to earn professional development hours. A way that we can do this is by registering for online professional development. Thankfully, Michigan LearnPort has free online courses that Michigan teachers can register for and take in order to receive some of the required continuing education hours.

What's great about this? It's easy, it's free, and you can work on it at home in your comfy clothes with a cup of coffee in hand.

What's not so great about this? Well, perhaps it will be wonderful. However, there is also a small (or maybe not so small) probability that the "free" courses will not be very high quality. I suppose hours are hours, but I'd rather not waste time taking courses that are not going to be profitable when time is limited.

I do look forward to giving one a try and seeing what they are like. There is one called "Planning and Designing Social Studies Investigations" that looks interesting, and also one about writing at high levels in the intermediate grades. That one of course will only be applicable if I end up teaching fourth or fifth grade.

Which brings me to my next point. Can you believe that I still don't know what grade I am teaching in the fall? Our open house is on August 27th, five days before school actually starts. That means that I have 12 days to have a room ready to go so that parents and students can see it when they come.

Fewer days to get ready = more stress for Melanie! I suppose the plus side is that it keeps me on my toes. Never a dull moment in teaching!

Photo from Flickr

Just playing around with some photo applications on the web.

View On Black

Slideshare & Switzerland

This morning in my class we are discussing Google Docs and Slideshare. I found this slideshow at slideshare.net, and wanted to try posting it on a blog, so here it is! I studied in Switzerland for a few weeks during the summer of 2001, and I would love to go back!

A Photo Jouney In Switzerland

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: travel; photography)

Slideshare could be a fun way for students to share PowerPoint presentations so that others can see them (which could be a motivation for them), and there are also some slides that might be useful as part of a lesson. This slide on Switzerland, for example, would be a nice way to provide students with background information if you happened to be discussing Switzerland.

Progress

Last night we finished painting in the house, minus some minor touchups. We had someone do some of the painting for us, but to save money we chose to do the bedrooms and bathrooms ourselves, with some help from friends and family. I am really happy with the colors we went with! Lots of thanks to Jen, Greg, Maria, Justin, Melissa, and Dan for all of their help!

Office

Master bedroom

Master bathroom

Guest bedroom

Guest bathroom

Just a Quick Note

If you didn't already know, even if you are not a member, you can post comments on this blog by clicking at the bottom of the posting you want to write on. :-)

You can also subscribe to the blog with an aggregator like bloglines.com by clicking on the subscribe buttons on the right. I'll add more about that later.

Back to work on my wiki assignment...

Using Wikis

Today in class it's a whole new topic for me: Wikis. They allow for multiple users to share information on the same page, including editing and adding to the same page, with a history of what has been added/changed. This is what makes it different from a blog. With a blog, one person writes, and the others can comment on what was written, but can't change it. With a wiki, one person writes, and everyone else can then edit or add on to what was orignally written, or engage in a discussion about the topic. Much easier than trying to collaborate through e-mail on a project because everyone sees the exact same thing. Some uses for Wikis in the classroom for elementary students:

• An annotated virtual library: listings and commentary on independent reading students have done throughout the year.
• Collaborative book reviews or author studies
• An elementary class “encyclopedia” on a special topic, such as explorers or state history – to be continued and added to each year!
• A virtual tour of your school as you study “our community” in elementary grades
• A travelogue from a field trip or NON- field trip that the class would have liked to take as A culmination of a unit of study: Our (non) trip to the Capital and what we (wish) we saw.
• Detailed and illustrated descriptions of scientific or governmental processes: how a bill becomes a law, how mountains form, etc.
• A travel brochure wiki: use wikis to “advertise” for different literary, historical, or cultural locations and time periods: Dickens’ London, fourteenth century in Italy in Verona and Mantua ( Romeo and Juliet), The Oklahoma Territory, The Yukon during the Gold Rush, Ex-patriot Paris in the Twenties, etc.

I'm setting up a Wiki myself for my colleagues to collaborate on teaching ideas involving technology. We'll see how it goes!

Here is our class site with some examples that people have found of wikis that they like:

http://mcisd21.wikispaces.com/

SMART Boards and Clickers

I have to have one of these! Today in my 21st Century Learning class we are learning about SMART Boards. They are AMAZING! There are so many great ways to use it in the classroom. It is big, easy to see, and can be used for an incredible variety of lessons. It's something that would also be fun for the kids because it is so appealing visually, and allows for plenty of interaction. Here are some examples of lessons and some more info:

A lesson on factors and multiples:
http://www.education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/Lesson+activities/Notebook+Activities/Browse+Notebook/United+States/Elementary/4-6/Math/Factors+and+Multiples.htm

Area of a rectangle:
http://www.education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/Lesson+activities/Notebook+Activities/Browse+Notebook/United+States/Elementary/4-6/Math/Area+of+a+Rectangle+SMARTcreated.htm

The water cycle:
http://www.education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/Lesson+activities/Notebook+Activities/Browse+Notebook/United+States/Elementary/4-6/Science/The+Water+Cycle.htm

We even saw an example of a virtual frog dissection that was very real looking. It actually supplied you with the "materials" and you touched the board to pick up the "pins" and pin the legs to the board, along with all of the other "tools". For language arts there are some great word games and even some great ways to create lessons on things like sequencing.

Impressive! Of course, this costs a small fortune as far as classroom budgets are concerned. (I believe I'd be looking at about $2,500, for the SMART Board and for a ceiling mounted projector.) I wonder if I can find some grant money out there...

We've also been discussing Clickers, which is another great tool for engaging students in lessons in the classroom. I am glad we covered this because I know my school has a set of Clickers that we can check out, but I have yet to do so because I had no idea how to use them. I'm excited about using them regularly now.

Both of the these technologies could be useful in any classroom, grades K-12, and for any subject area. I see younger children being a little more excited about the SMART Board, but I think that it could easily be geared toward high school students as well. I probably wouldn't use the Clickers much with kindergarten or first grade... That would present some challenges as they might get frustrated with the Clickers (they don't work unless you point them at the exact right spot, and it would be easier to use them with children who are able to read, though you could always read what is on the screen for them.)

Here are some links for the Clickers: http://jdornberghandouts.wikispaces.com/CPS+Clickers+in+the+classroom

Our Newest Addition

A couple of months ago I was at Pet Supplies Plus to pick up hay for our class bunny, Chewbacca. (AKA, Chewie.) Whenever I go there on a weekend I always make sure to go by the back where they have animals from the Humane Society. We'd been planning to get a dog as soon as we moved, so I was keeping my eyes open, hoping to find a young lab or lab mix of some kind. That was when I saw her.

She was in the middle cage at the bottom, just laying there with her big hazel eyes looking up at me. When I went up to the cage her tail wagged just a little as she sniffed my hand. She was perfect! I looked at the info on her cage and saw that she was a nine month old Lab/Siberian Husky mix. The man working there took her out for me, and I instantly fell in love with her. She was super friendly, and had tons of energy.

A few days later, after finding a temporary home for her while our house is completed, Aaron and I were signing the papers to adopt her. The shelter had named her Asia, but we changed it to Sasha. She has turned out to be the perfect dog for us! She loves to run, which is great because it forces me to run regularly, and she helps to make it a little more enjoyable!

Our New Home!

One of the most recent happenings in the Wiens household: getting ready to move to our new home! We started looking to purchase a new home in the fall, shortly after our old apartment burned down. As we were looking, we discovered that in this housing market, we could build for the same price we were looking to buy, so we decided to go for it! A good friend of ours from church is the contractor. Here are some photos from start to where we are currently at:

Our lot before we began to build.

Starting to put up the frame after pouring the foundation.

The frame with windows added!

It's been a fun process! We are currently working on finishing up some painting, and then the final touches will be added. We hope to move within the next couple of weeks!

Welcome!

Welcome to our family website! I hope that this site will become a fun and easy way to keep everyone updated on the happenings of the Wiens household!